Whether you agree politically with Dennis Miller or not, you have to admit that he is quite the wordsmith. Everytime I see him on TV, I find my inner voice reminding my consciousness to “pay attention” and “listen closely.” Boy, he’s a fast talker. It’s fun to listen to him!
The other night we were flipping channels and caught the end of his interview on The O’Reilly Factor. O’Reilly asked him about his thoughts on Kiefer Sutherland.
“Here you’ve got a guy, privileged guy. His father is big star before him. Wealthy man. Famous now because of “24”, and he can’t stop driving drunk. How do you process this?”
Miller’s answer really struck me because it applies to the “everyman,” not just celebrities…
“You know, if you don’t have everything, you’d think if I ever had anything I’d be happy. Guess what? When you get everything, the areas where you’re screwed up become more clearly delineated. You find out your gaps don’t go away because you’ve got 22 on the air on FOX and you’re making a good bucks.
You find out that your gaps are your gaps, and it runs a lot deeper than show biz. I think that’s what happens to some of these kids. They get that whole list filled up, checking off things they always thought would make them happy. They get all of it. They have more than all of it, and they’re still not happy. That’s when you hit the bottle.
That’s one thing. Hitting the bottle and driving, you’ve got to change your life.”
Simple yet profound. “Stuff” won’t make you happy and it can only distract you from your “gaps” for so long.
If you think the next big thing (promotion, bigger home, another child, etc.) is going to finally make you happy, think again. It’s only a temporary diversion from the deeper issues you have to work through. Happiness has to happen at your core first, for it to last beyond the “high” of a new toy or accomplishment. If you’re chasing happiness, then you are going to have a long race ahead of you and the only person you are competing against is yourself.
Find your inner peace. True happiness will follow.
[tags]Dennis Miller, The O’Reilly Factor, Kiefer Sutherland, happiness, drinking and driving[/tags]